Private legal expert, Martin Kpebu commended Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng for re-freezing the funds in the bank accounts of former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah.

Kpebu praised the Special Prosecutor's actions, noting that Dapaah has not provided evidence that the substantial amount of money stolen was derived from her business activities.

Speaking on TV3's Ghana Tonight on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, Mr. Kpebu suggested that Cecilia Dapaah would have provided an explanation if the stolen funds were indeed linked to her business endeavors.

Additionally, he stated that the companies involved would have come forward to clarify their positions when the scandal became widely known in both the public domain and the media.

“There is no way we could look at the laws and allow Madam Dapaah to go with the money,” Martin Kpebu said.

He continued that, “She hasn’t shown she has run any business.”

The private legal practitioner added that, “From day one, if she had a company that was producing so much in selling and she had money and she could explain this, you think the company wouldn’t have come out?”

The Financial Division of the Accra High Court issued a ruling on Thursday, August 31, 2023, instructing the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to return all seized assets of Cecilia Dapaah and unfreeze her accounts within seven days. The court concluded that the OSP lacked valid grounds for the seizure of the property and the freezing of her accounts, emphasizing that the OSP had acted based on speculation and public sentiment.

However, on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, the OSP, in compliance with the High Court's order, once again froze Cecilia Dapaah's accounts and assets.

Background

In the meantime, two housekeepers employed by Cecilia Dapaah are currently facing charges in an Accra Circuit Court.

They are accused of stealing an amount totaling $1 million, €300,000, along with millions of Ghanaian cedis from her residence in Abelemkpe in October 2022.

The two individuals, identified as 18-year-old Patience Botwe and 30-year-old Sarah Agyei, allegedly pilfered the money and personal belongings of the couple during the period from July to October 2022.

They have been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of theft involving US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghanaian cedis.